Kempter Gate

The Kempter Gate

The gate photographed from the church tower of the Frauenkirche .

The Kempter Tor is a city gate in the Upper Swabian city ​​of Memmingen .

location

The gate is on the south side of the old town in the old Wegbach settlement. A piece of the original battlements of the Hohe Wacht has been preserved near the gate . It is in the immediate vicinity of the Soldier Tower and the Red Barracks .

Appearance

Of all the gates of the second city expansion, only the Kempter Tor has retained its original shape. The narrow high gate has a gable roof . On the south side and on the inside it has a clock in the gable, flanked by the imperial eagle and the city coat of arms. On a bulge on the outside, the double city coat of arms frames a small window. With the exception of the clock, the inside is painted pink. The name is a reference to the trade relations with the neighboring town of Kempten .

history

In the 14th century the so-called Wegbach settlement was included in the city fortifications. Around 1390, the city wall, which is still extensively today, was built and in 1395 the Kempter Tor was completed as the southern exit. The local weavers, tanners and the unclean quarter with the executioner and whore house were protected with a massive bulwark. In the long series of city sieges and city revenue, the troops preferred to attack in the west, because the Kempter Tor was difficult to take due to the high, massive bulwarks in front of the gate, the flank protection of the Hohe Wacht and the deep moat. It was never destroyed as a result. In addition to the Ulmer Tor, it has the typical Swabian high, slim and yet massive gable construction of the time. In the Middle Ages those condemned to death were led through this gate to the Galgenberg at the gates of the city. They were accompanied by the shrill sound of St. Martin's arm sinner bell .

From the middle to the end of the 19th century, many parts of the city wall were demolished, partly at the request of the townspeople, partly because of the construction of the railway. After the emergency center gate disappeared in 1863 , the southern city also wanted to be freed from the narrow passage of the Kempter Tor. However, the district government in Augsburg forbade demolition, but allowed a wall breakthrough next to the gate. In 1893, to the right of the gate, this second entrance gate was created in order to be able to counter “the increasing traffic on this side of the city”.

literature

• Tilmann Breuer : City and district of Memmingen (=  Bavarian art monuments . Volume 4 ). Deutscher Kunstverlag, 1959, ZDB -ID 256533-X , p. 31 .

Web links

Commons : Kempter Tor (Memmingen)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 58 ′ 50.8 "  N , 10 ° 10 ′ 55.3"  E